


Proud Of His Boys

by Jathis



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Boy Scouts, Something sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-03
Updated: 2014-08-03
Packaged: 2018-02-11 15:39:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2073702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jathis/pseuds/Jathis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A newly returned Earl Harlan sees his Scouts for the first time since he's come back.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Proud Of His Boys

Franklin Wilson and Barton Donovan; the first and seemingly only Scouts to reach the rank of Eternal Scout. They had been good boys, loyal and obedient but not to a fault. He had only needed to take them aside once when he first started to add the new techniques and codewords to his regiment, whispering to them gently how important it was for the older and stronger boys to care for the newer weaker boys. A Scout troop cannot stand if its members sacrifice others just to get ahead. It was wrong and it was not the proper way.

They had saluted, promising to protect the rest of the troop to the best of their ability. The way they had looked up at him, faces set in a serious expression some adults would never be able to master… It had made Earl’s chest swell with pride in them and he had returned their salute with his own before nodding firmly, dismissing them before resuming his illegal training of the rest of the troop.

Franklin Wilson and Barton Donovan; the Eternal Scouts preserved and on display in front of City Hall for all to look up at and admire and fear at the same time. To be proud and scared together in a mixture of emotions.

It hurt ex-Scoutmaster Earl’s heart to see his two best Scouts like that. He could feel the corners of his eyes burn with tears threatening to form and slide down his cheeks. They had worked so hard and had never complained when he was harder on them than any of the other boys. They wanted to make him proud. They wanted to…

Raising up three fingers, Earl saluted to the preserved boys, allowing a single tear to slide down his cheek as he stared at them both, his body rigid and stiff. “My boys…my strong Scouts,” he whispered.

He had heard from others about what had happened to his troop after the ceremony. They had been divided and forced to assimilate into other troops. The boys he had been protecting died within days of entering their new troops with no one to help guide and protect them. The others had slipped into their old ways, focusing only on themselves and earning their own badges and higher rankings within the Scouts.

He heard the honking of a car and he lowered his hand, his shoulders falling as he looked over his shoulder. It was one of the other chefs at Tourniquet, sitting in their car and waving to him through the window. “We’re gonna be late for the dinner rush!”

“One moment!” he called back, glancing again at the two display cases. “…I’m sorry,” he whispered, “I should have been a better Scoutmaster…”

Another honking of the horn and Earl sighed as he turned his back on the two Eternal Scouts, jogging to the car and muttering an apology as he climbed into the passenger seat, dutifully putting his seat belt on.


End file.
